mamamoose Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Dd did excellent with math mammoth in 4th grade and up until now she was doing great as well. But either she is beating herself up and being too hard on herself or she needs more review...I'm not sure what to do. She is struggling through concepts, which was fine before, because she worked through it and we did the cumulative review and the mixed review and she got it and we moved on. Now, however, she is even struggling with review...I am not sure if we should switch for next year, and if so, to what?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsplaymath Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Upper-elementary math is hard. The topics get more abstract, and the rules for solving them have more steps (example). It's normal for students to struggle. But you don't want to let the struggle build into full-blown math phobia. Does your daughter work alone on most of her math, or do you work through it with her? I found that doing Buddy Math really made a difference for my daughter at this age. Do you think her struggles mean she has missed out on (or not fully mastered) some of the earlier foundational concepts? Try playing math games together, so you can see how well she handles numbers on the fly. Math games can also be a good substitute for daily lessons, if you decide she just needs some time off to regroup. Speaking of time off, it can really help a student's attitude to take a break from schoolish math and explore some of the wilder topics that catch their imagination. Whenever my kids had a rough time, we'd take a couple weeks away from the textbook and play around with enrichment topics --- then we could come back to the bookish work refreshed. And sometimes, the topics that they had struggled with seemed suddenly easy, because the concepts had continued to simmer in their subconscious mind while we were doing other things. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 I use Evan Moor Skill Sharpeners Math with my kids while they are doing Math Mammoth. Just one page a day but it provides some spiral review of concepts so they don't forget things they haven't done in a while. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue plaid Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 I am wondering where you are in Math Mammoth? Both my kids so far have found the decimal section in Math Mammoth 5 to be way too much at one time. With my current 5th grader we skipped ahead to fractions which is going fine and will revisit decimals with another resource before the end of the year. This may not be your issue but thought I'd mention it in case it helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 We add Simple Solutions CC Math beginning in MM5 for spiral review. It was the perfect combination for us. Takes under 20 minutes including checking work and making corrections. DD does it all independently. Never has a chance to forget a concept! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoose Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 I am wondering where you are in Math Mammoth? Both my kids so far have found the decimal section in Math Mammoth 5 to be way too much at one time. With my current 5th grader we skipped ahead to fractions which is going fine and will revisit decimals with another resource before the end of the year. This may not be your issue but thought I'd mention it in case it helps! It has been on and off but we actually just bailed on the decimal section the day I posted this. It's long section and the measurement conversion section sent her sailing over the edge. She got the concept with US standard length conversions but everything else was conceptually difficult--when do you multiply and when do you divide!!! I drew pictures and she still got it backwards so maybe she just wasn't developmentally ready? But overall when she gets to the review, she has forgotten stuff and gets frustrated and says she is stupid because she can't remember. Latin is similar--she forgets vocal words and feels like she is failing, but I'm taking it alongside her and forget too! She is very very bright, ahead in everything except math. I just think a program with more review might be helpful, or a way to review every day might give her more confidence. :/ Saxon had too much review. I do math with her, she doesn't do well reading and teaching herself in math. Her other subjects are, for the most part, done independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsplaymath Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 ... the measurement conversion section sent her sailing over the edge. She got the concept with US standard length conversions but everything else was conceptually difficult--when do you multiply and when do you divide!!! I drew pictures and she still got it backwards so maybe she just wasn't developmentally ready? ... Or maybe she will connect better when it's explained in a different way? After you take a break and let the emotions settle, you might take a look at this blog post on converting measurements: How Old Are You, in Nanoseconds? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue plaid Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Sounds like a good decision to bail on decimals for now. One of mine freaked in the middle, the other seemed to be tracking with it all but freaked at the end/test. Have you looked at CLE math? I've only used a little bit of it but it introduces new things slowly and has lots of spiral review. It is not as conceptual as MM but has some conceptual stuff in it. It has been good for a season here. I also like Math in Focus but don't think it has the review you are looking for. Best wishes whatever you decide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoose Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 I just really want math mammoth to work because I have it through grade 7. I really like the CLE language arts we are using in 1st and 3rd and have thought about it for my 3rd grader, but the introduction of small chunks at a time isn't right either; I wish math mammoth had 10 problems of review each day to choose from. I love that website on conversions! Thank you, thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 I use Evan Moor Skill Sharpeners Math with my kids while they are doing Math Mammoth. Just one page a day but it provides some spiral review of concepts so they don't forget things they haven't done in a while. Yes, we use Math Minutes the same way. We also play lots of math games to review and solidify concepts. Great ideas in the relaxed math pinned thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoose Posted March 15, 2017 Author Share Posted March 15, 2017 I gave her The Saxon placement test and she aced the first 50 questions...more than anything it gave her confidence, because it easily placed her in 6th grade math already, and the questions didn't hang her up at all. Math mammoth is constantly challenging her...I guess that's partly what's blocking us. There is never a break where it's just easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyMom5 Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Have you tried doing more than one section in MM at the same time? What I do is look at the 'main' lessons for the grade, and then I take the shorter lessons (like time, measurment, ect) and I will do 2 at the same time. Instead of doing entire sections of the decimals, hae her do a page or even 1/2 of a page per day of the harder stuff, and then a page of the easier stuff. It gives her brain more time to process the newer stuff, and a longer time reinforcing it. This is my main beef w/ MM- they do a lesson and they you only see it on the later reviews. If you take a longer time teaching it, it sticks better (at least with my kids), they also seem to not mind doing a handful of harder questions when most of their math is easier stuff. At the end of the week you've done a few pages of the harder section, and more of the easier stuff. You can adjust as you feel your child needs- if she gets it quickly, then do a whole page, but if you can see her struggling - or even just frustrated with doing too many of a certain type of problem- then do less of the page and save the rest for the next day. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoose Posted March 19, 2017 Author Share Posted March 19, 2017 This sounds like a good strategy. I have not tried this. This is definitely my main beef with the program too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myanmom Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 We are not in 5th grade yet, but we have used MM for 1-3rd with a child who struggles in Math (child is 4th gr age but needed to take things more slowly). We do something very similar to what BusyMom5 does. This is also similar to what Maria Miller suggests in the introductions to the tougher chapters - to split math time up and not spend the whole chunk of time on the tough subject. It has really helped us! I often use a "timer" approach - do 30 minutes from an easy section like measurement (as long as there aren't any concepts required that we haven't yet learned) and 30 minutes from the tough section. Adjust the time spent on the tough section as needed (maybe 15 minutes is all she can take!) Also, I'd encourage you to write to Maria! I have emailed her several times when we hit a roadblock, and she always has helpful suggestions. This is one reason I am a huge fan of MM - we get access to a seasoned math teacher/tutor who wants to see our children succeed. :) Have you tried doing more than one section in MM at the same time? What I do is look at the 'main' lessons for the grade, and then I take the shorter lessons (like time, measurment, ect) and I will do 2 at the same time. Instead of doing entire sections of the decimals, hae her do a page or even 1/2 of a page per day of the harder stuff, and then a page of the easier stuff. It gives her brain more time to process the newer stuff, and a longer time reinforcing it. This is my main beef w/ MM- they do a lesson and they you only see it on the later reviews. If you take a longer time teaching it, it sticks better (at least with my kids), they also seem to not mind doing a handful of harder questions when most of their math is easier stuff. At the end of the week you've done a few pages of the harder section, and more of the easier stuff. You can adjust as you feel your child needs- if she gets it quickly, then do a whole page, but if you can see her struggling - or even just frustrated with doing too many of a certain type of problem- then do less of the page and save the rest for the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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